While unveiling a new State Department report on Tuesday, U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson slammed China and North Korea as among the worst offenders
While unveiling a new State Department report on Tuesday, U. S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson slammed China and North Korea as among the worst offenders of human trafficking and forced labor today, and held China responsible for the tens of thousands of North Korean workers in China who essentially work as slaves there.
The congressionally mandated “Trafficking in Persons Report” (TIP) is compiled annually by the U. S. State Department and seeks to assess government efforts around the world to combat human trafficking. The 2017 edition contains assessments for 187 countries and territories, including the United States.
The report ranks countries in three tiers, of which Tier 3 is the lowest ranking and indicates countries that fail to satisfy even the minimum standards of the U. S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Previously China was placed on “Tier 2 watch list” for three consecutive years, and is downgraded to Tier 3 in this year’s report.
In his remarks, Tillerson said that China is downgraded to Tier 3 status in this year’s report in part because “it hasn’ t taken serious steps to end its own complicity in human trafficking.
